Fed watchdog finds no criminal wrongdoing in $2.4bn headquarters renovation

An internal watchdog for the Federal Reserve has found that the central bank mismanaged costs associated with a $2.4 billion renovation of its Washington, DC headquarters, but concluded that no criminal violations occurred, according to a report released Wednesday.

The renovation has been a focal point of criticism from President Donald Trump for more than a year, who has centered attacks on the Federal Reserve and its then-chair, Jerome Powell, around the project's rising costs.

Those attacks included a months-long Department of Justice criminal investigation into the matter, which was dropped in April without charges being filed.

The watchdog's report represents the latest and most detailed public accounting of the renovation's cost overruns, though it stops short of alleging any deliberate wrongdoing by Fed officials, describing the issues instead as mismanagement.

The renovation project became entangled in a broader political dispute over the Federal Reserve's independence, as Trump repeatedly pressured Powell to lower interest rates during the period when the building costs came under scrutiny.